Karola Lüttringhaus was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. Merging American experiences with her European roots, she creates interdisciplinary works in performing & visual arts, film and sound. She is the artistic director of ALBAN ELVED DANCE COMPANY (www.albanelved.org), produces the annual 'SARUS Festival for Site-specific & Experimental Art' in Wilmington, NC, as well as the 'MoRe Movement Research Project' with Salem College, NC. Ms Lüttringhaus is co-director of A FORTIORI with Fereshteh Rostampour, and works as a freelance designer, choreographer and educator at theatres and universities across Europe, Canada and the US. In 2013 she joined the faculty at Salem College, teaching Movement Science and Interdisciplinary Approaches. She holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA in Scenic & Exhibition Design from the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany.

"Developing a new work is a process of love that is endlessly rewarding to me. I am enchanted by visceral and fierce kinetic expressions, by spaces that offer transformation, and by materials that resonate within the characters and the story. I love for the space/set design to leave room for the players, so that intricately interwoven relationships and strong personalities can develop and merge with the environment, the lighting, the sound and the costumes to something intimately connected and meaningful.As dancers/choreographers we have an impact on our society and I emphasize the importance that our work bears, not only on individual and private lives, but on our society. Dance is an influential tool as it facilitates a platform for intelligent, emotional and critical exchange and learning, as well as the development of complex social networks.I am a detail-oriented, investigative and philosophical director, basing my work on a search for uncovering layers of the subconscious. Intellect and instinct are at work in equal measure, an ongoing exchange between creativity and analysis. Exploring the precipices of human emotion, I am drawn to friction, confrontation and vulnerability. I do not fear beauty. I avoid illustration. I crave a deep look into the soul of a work and I need absolute honesty within each work. With that, art can change our hearts. "

In a flip-flop relationship where reality becomes animation and vice versa, ”vita 3” speaks of a gap between felt and imposed identity, of alienation and an inescapable emotional entanglement of a 3- dimensional life-form within a 2 dimensional world.​'is a meditation on the complex relationship between biological life and the harnessed electricity of technology­, in both their glorious and their tragic modes. The Human Imagination is the protagonist within a landscape she continually creates- by emitting sound and light forms (symbols of her origins), and through the movements of her dwelling place (the body). The Imagination is compelled on a quest through time and space, as she seeks to separate the “artificial” technologically enhanced aspects of Herself from the “natural” life forces. Through the process, her reflections take on a multiplicity of forms- vulnerable and fragile as new life, rising in power and self-understanding- then doubt, under surveillance, wrathful, absorbed and fused with her own mental circuitry, isolated, and ultimately at peace with her sentient nature.' Sam Taylor about vita3​

'The Suitcase Garden' 30 minute dance theatre performance on the cycle of life.A woman holds all her memories within a suitcase; the house she grew up in, the river nearby and the garden.For audiences ages 3 and up.video (from performance at Pine Valley Elementary School)

Other works shown include 'vita3' and 'Hey!' ( a short dance solo, a self portrait.

About 'CORE'

Photo of 'CORE'

Printmaker BenBillingsley, Musician Luis Adorno, Performance artist and Sculptor GreyPascal and Choreographer/Scene Designer Karola Luettringhaus are collaborating on a piece that is part interactive installation, part performance, exploring the forming of beliefs, the shedding of the unnecessary, and the dismantling of social constructs such as shame, guilt, and hatred. This performance contains nudity and invites mature brains into an honest and open exchange.

'The attentiveness of silent communication, the support of touch, individual agreement. Evolution is what is happening right now; taking a more distant vantage point, from far away, I see defeat and recovery.'